Pakistan: National Marxist Summer School - Rawalakot, Kashmir

On 7th and 8th July 2013 the ‘National Marxist School (Summer)’ was held in the city of Rawalakot, Kashmir, and attended by more than 270 comrades from all across Pakistan. The 2-day long school consisted of 4 sessions.

The first session on day one was ‘World Perspectives’ and Comrade Shahryar Zouq gave the lead off while Comrade Rashid Sheikh chaired the session. Comrade Shahryar Zouq gave an analysis of the global economic crisis of capitalism and the emergence of revolutions across the world. He said that today every corner of the world is providing proof of the obsolescence of capitalism. On the one hand where this system is paving way for wars and civil wars, it is also the reason behind uprisings and revolutions. Many countries are getting caught in the storm of revolutionary movements.

The revolution that started in the Arab world in 2011 has refused to end and is breaking out in different countries across the globe. After the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 it was said that the revolution has come to an end but we said that this was only the end of one stage of the revolution and much more was about to happen. Our perspective was vindicated when millions of people packed the streets and squares throughout Egypt in protest against Morsi. These protests were much bigger than those against Mubarak and the government was ousted in a mere 3 days.

But the State has tried yet another deceptive way to save the system and this has given the deprived working classes of the world new conclusions from these experiences. The outburst of revolutionary movements in the so called “rapidly developing” countries of Brazil and Turkey have jolted the imperialists and have shown the true nature of these countries where the capitalist state has failed to provide even the most basic necessities to the masses.

Europe and America are caught in the web of the worst economic crisis. All the gains that the working class has won from previous battles are being taken away but even that has not made the crisis go away and it never could because these crises are the crisis of the obsolescence of the capitalist system. The failure of the revolutionary movements around the world in getting rid of this decaying system has been because of the lack of an explicit alternative and the lack of a revolutionary party.

The discussion in the 2nd session was on Perspectives for Pakistan, chaired by Comrade Vinod Kumar and the lead off given by Comrade Umer Rasheed. The lead off by Comrade Umer analyzed the economic, political and social situation of Pakistan. The failed Pakistani state was discussed in detail. The crumbling of the state institutions, their confrontations and internal destruction were discussed. The conflicts between the institutions have reached a level where there is no solution left. The infighting in the top hierarchy of the Army, Judiciary and Executive for commissions and black money has taken corruption to an unimaginable scale.

The economy of this failed Pakistani state is based on loans from the IMF and private banks, loans which are paid back by taking out more loans. This has given rise to a vicious increase in inflation. The state has no other solution than to punish the working class and push it beyond limits that cannot be withstood. Soon there will privatization on a large scale and those trade unions which oppose such acts will be subject to extreme assaults from the state. Unemployment will increase even more, inflation, terrorism, street crime and religious fundamentalism will be out of control. In such circumstances, it is only a matter of time before the oppressed and tyrannized working class erupts against this horrific system and under the guidance of a truly revolutionary party, overthrows this inhumane system of capitalism and brings about a socialist revolution.

The lead off was followed by questions. Contributions were made by Comrade Suleman (Malakand), Comrade Atif (Lahore), Comrade Faizan (Lahore), Comrade Faras (Karachi), Comrade Muskaan (Swat), Comrade Tanvir (Kashmir) and Comrade Hassan (Sialkot). Comrade Maryam sang a revolutionary poem after the contributions. In light of the questions, the session was summed up by Comrade Paras Jan.

The 3rd session was held on the second day of the school, chaired by Comrade Sajid Alam, and the discussion was based on ‘Philosophy, Dialectical Materialism and Positivism’ with the lead off given by Comrade Rashid Khalid. Comrade Rashid in the lead off explained the wishful conclusions of the capitalist rulers and their so called ‘intellectuals’ at the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union that socialism had failed. But the years that followed have unveiled their complacency. That is because these crude neo-intellectuals failed to understand Marxism in its true sense. It is due to the fact that ‘Formal Logic’ can never explain Marxism.

To understand Marxism in its depth, the philosophy of Dialectical Materialism is necessary. The social and scientific advancements have made it compulsory to take a dialectical view of human society and nature. The German philosopher Hegel came to this conclusion but his views were based on idealism, not materialism, not the real world. It was Karl Marx who rescued ideas of Hegel from the world of idealism in order to base the dialectical method on materialism, on real living forces. One fundamental difference between Dialectical Materialism and all other philosophies is that where all other philosophies preach reconciliation, Dialectical Materialism leads us towards fighting against the social contradictions and conflicts and therefore paves a logical way towards revolution. And that is why Karl Marx in his “Theses on Feuerbach” says, “Philosophers have only interpreted the world; the real task, however, is to change it!”

The 4th and final session was on the topic ‘Building a Revolutionary Party’, chaired by Comrade Mahbaloos Asad and the lead off was given by Comrade Adam Pal. He explained in detail our strategy and procedure in building a revolutionary party in Pakistan. After the lead off, youth representatives from all regions of Pakistan gave detailed reports of organizational work in their regions, discussed the future prospects of organizational work and also established targets. Comrade Pal summed up the discussions of the school after the reports. In the summing up he praised the revolutionary spirit of the comrades attending the school. He said that the determination, patience, courage and the desire of the young comrades to comprehend Marxist ideology are the expression of beliefs that we all share, beliefs that we will uproot capitalism from the Earth and lay the foundations of the Socialist Revolution. The school finished with the singing of the ‘Internationale’.